Mark IV

[kissing]

hi guys,
Sorry i think you must have heard this countless times, but can i know the difference between a short head, medium head and combo version?

 

[Barry]

hi guys,
Sorry i think you must have heard this countless times, but can i know the difference between a short head, medium head and combo version?

the short head has some of the switches on the back where as the medium one has them on the front of the amp . Same with the combo versions .

 

[Living_justice]

Also the combo, would sound different with the open back cab, but if you get a open back cab, it would sound the same with the head verson, but for metal or rock a closed back cab would be better. :lol: also this needs to be on the vintage post forum, check there loads of info on that forum on this.

 

[Russ]

I think that your question is better fielded by asking about chassis length and speaker combinations. There have been discussions to death on here in the vintage forum.

In a nutshell, there are both head and combo versions of the long and short chassis while only the short chassis can be truly rackmounted. The longer chassis allows for more of the controls to be on the front as was noted above but also suspends one side of the the footcontroller while in storage on the back of the amp while the short chassis uses the sides of the enclosure to hold the footcontroller.

In the case of speaker combinations, you can use a combo, head, or rackmount to power any speaker you like provided you match the impedance and the speaker can handle the wattage. The shorter combos sound a little tighter than the longer ones but the longer combos have a hint of more bottom. If you want more perceived loudness you may switch to a closed back cabinet that will give you more of a punchy sound while if you go to more than one speaker you will get more cone area and move more air thus feeling even louder. The combo speaker can be disconnected easily to power a full stack if desired but even a half stack plus the combo can be nice. Personally I like to run either the combo speaker and a Thiele or the combo and a 4x12 or a Thiele and a 4x12 depending upon what I am playing or where.

As far as the amp itself is concerned the amp doesn't really care if it is in a short or long chassis. It doesn't care if it is in a combo or a head. Some may argue that the tube life will shorten in a combo v. a head due to the tubes being enclosed in the same space as the speaker and there being shock applied to the tubes while operating. There is some validity to that. Tubes are consumables though and unless you are seriously playing the hell out of your amp then I wouldn't worry about it too much because eventually you have to replace your tubes anyway. I like changing flavor of tube anyway so for me it is just a good excuse to buy something else or more of the same if I really liked it.